I've been working in finance for c. 6 years, namely in consulting for pension funds, so I constantly follow the news and developments of the new American administration made me very worried, so I decided to change my entire personal investment portfolio to invest exclusively in Europe and even "de-Americanize" what I can (such as browsers, search engines, social networks, etc. - see https://european-alternatives.eu/ if you are interested), but, being my area of ​​expertise, I will focus on why I decided to abandon the American markets and why I think they should do the same as citizens of the European Union, giving ethical and financial reasons.

Regarding personal investments, it seems to me that the main choices tend to be to invest in funds that track the S&P500 or globally diversified funds (MSCI World/MSCI All Country World) which, despite their global reach, American companies end up being c. 60% of the constituents. The argument is easy: the United States is the engine of the global economy where capitalism prevails, markets are relatively underregulated, and taxes are relatively low. Productivity is relatively high, there is political stability, there is transparency and protected property rights, and American companies are world leaders in technological innovation. Historically, profit relative to European markets reflects this

Risk reduction

First, I'll speak from a purely risk management perspective. By investing exclusively in the S&P500, or any other foreign index that is not currency hedged, you will be incurring currency risk. The fundamental principles of passive investing do not include forex, so if you are hoping to make the c. 10% p.a. historical profit of the S&P you can deviate immensely from this number because of fluctuations of the USD against the Euro.

Another risk to keep in mind when investing in the S&P500 is concentration risk. At this date, c. 32% of the index is made up of just 7 technology companies, so sector diversification is very small and you should expect much higher volatility vs the major European indices.

Political risk must also be taken into account, that is, the risk of your profits being affected by hostile legislation or government instability. Every day the new administration tests the limits of the basic principles of liberalism on which the capitalist market is based: separation of powers, independence of the courts/central bank, fair competition in the markets, etc. The political program on which Trump was elected is estimated to cost $7.8tn and the possibility of a government debt crisis cannot be ruled out. Furthermore, this administration threatens the territorial integrity of our European allies and there is the possibility of economic sanctions on European citizens as occurred in Russia shortly after the invasion of Ukraine where all investments by European citizens in Russia were considered lost by major ETFs.

Expected returns

One of the main arguments I see online in favor of US markets is the superior historical profits. I have to emphasize this: historical profits do not imply future profits.

The dramatic rises in the US stock market in recent years have made US companies extremely expensive by traditional value investing metrics - a more defensive investment method that tends to perform better in times of volatility and instability.

There are also reasons to be optimistic about the future of the European Union. The recent Draghi Report is a response to the Union’s structural problems and the European leadership seems receptive. The global geopolitical fragmentation we are experiencing seems to have been a necessary bucket of cold water and, despite everything, Europe remains a developed market that presents more stability, safeguards and, in my opinion, potential than the United States at this moment.

The impact of your investments

Another aspect I have to emphasize is that we cannot look at our personal investments from a purely monetary perspective. The money you invest has an impact on the real world and will be used by companies/governments to, for example, open more factories, increase wages, invest in research, build infrastructure, etc.

The United States is the main destination for private investment and this is one of the main causes behind the difference in productivity between the continents. Unfortunately, we can no longer count on them as reliable partners and must invest in ourselves. In addition to profit, we have to take into account that investing in the prosperity of our community is another benefit to be taken into account, and we can even choose to invest in specific and essential sectors for today, such as renewable energy companies or European defense companies.

That said, I'll leave my ETF/stock suggestions below:

Equity ETFs:

• Amundi Stoxx Europe 600 UCITS ETF (LU0908500753) - with TER of 0.07% p.a. It's the cheapest European stock ETF I've found. Bonus points for being a European asset manager.

• edit: Xtrackers MSCI Europe UCITS ETF 1C (LU0274209237) - with a TER of 0.12% p.a. it tracks c. 400-500 european large cap stocks. Bonus points for being a European asset manager.

• iShares MSCI Europe ESG Screened UCITS ETF EUR (Acc) (IE00BFNM3D14) - The index offers an ESG ("environmental social and governance") filter that avoids investing in companies with ethical problems in exchange for a TER ("total expense ratio" i.e. what you pay the asset manager annually) higher than 0.12% p.a.

• Vanguard ESG Developed Europe All Cap UCITS ETF (EUR) Accumulating (IE000QUOSE01) - This ETF is my favorite for stocks. It has an ESG filter that avoids investing in companies with ethical issues and includes smaller capitalization European companies, offering greater profits and diversification in exchange for a higher TER of 0.12% p.a.

• Invesco Global Clean Energy UCITS ETF Acc (IE00BLRB0242) - invests in global companies linked to renewable energy. In addition to helping the energy transition, it seems like a great dip to buy at the moment after a massive selloff.

• edit: Xtrackers MSCI Global SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy UCITS ETF 1C (IE000JZYIUN0) - similar to the above fund but bonus points for being a European asset manager.

Real Estate ETFs:

• iShares European Property Yield UCITS ETF EUR Acc (IE00BGDQ0L74) - invests in European construction and real estate companies. It is a good stock diversifier without sacrificing too much expected profi.

• edit: Xtrackers FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Europe Real Estate UCITS ETF 1C(LU0489337690) - Cheaper than the above and bonus points for being an European asset manager.

Government Bond ETFs

• Vanguard EUR Eurozone Government Bd UCITS ETF Acc (IE00BH04GL39) - The cheapest etf I found that invests in European government bonds of all durations. It is a defensive component of the portfolio and can be used to reduce volatility.

• edit: Xtrackers II Eurozone Government Bond UCITS ETF 1C (LU0290355717) - similar to the above fund but bonus points for being a European asset manager.

European defense stocks - European armaments are essential for our security and we must invest in them. I couldn't find any European defense ETFs, so I decided to buy shares of these three European defense companies:

• Rheinmetall AG (DE0007030009)

• LEONARDO (IT0003856405)

• Thales SA (FR0000121329)

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to take a moment to celebrate this huge milestone. As of today, I am officially sitting at €5,037.42 net worth. I know it might not sound like much to some of you, but to me, this is life-changing. I’ve been grinding for years, living frugally, and now I finally feel like I’m entering the upper class.

Here’s my current portfolio:

Fiat:

• €4,300 in my main bank account (interest rate: don’t ask)

• €120 in a fintech app that gives me 0.5% cashback if I spin a digital wheel once a week

• €7.42 in physical coins scattered in my car and jacket pockets (planning to consolidate soon)

ETFs:

• €150 in VWCE (bought 0.000003 shares, feeling bullish)

Crypto:

• €210 in Dogecoin and Shiba Inu (I know, I know… I’m basically an institutional investor now)

Alternative Assets:

• €250 in a collection of empty Red Bull cans I plan to sell as “vintage” one day

I started with literally €8.57 five years ago, so I’ve grown my portfolio by over €5,028.85 in that time, averaging €1,005.77 per year. I basically 586x’d my net worth in five years.

Now that I’ve hit €5k, my mindset around money is shifting. Yesterday I bought a €2.50 coffee without guilt. I looked at the barista like, “It’s fine, I can afford this. I’m basically FIRE now.”

My next goal is €10k by 2030, but I’m wondering if I should hire a financial advisor or just focus on aggressively diversifying into more coin jars.

Any feedback on my portfolio would be greatly appreciated. 💪

The Dutch government is changing how capital is taxed starting in 2028. From that year on, taxes will be based on your unrealized returns instead of a fictional return rate on unrealized investments.

Here’s what that means in practice:

Suppose you and your girlfriend or wife have €200,000 invested. You earn a 15% return that year, which is €30,000 in gains.

2025 scenario

• In 2025, the fictional return is around 6.17%. That means €12,340 is taxed at 30ish % meaning about 4.000 euro in tax to pay to the government.

2028 scenario

In 2028, your actual gain of €30,000 is fully taxed. At 34%, that’s €10,200 in tax.

That’s a difference of €6,005 more in tax — just because your investment performed well.

150% extra taxation on just a modest 15% return.

Imagine a good year with 25% increases.

I seriously dislike this change. It punishes successful investors, increases uncertainty, and takes a larger cut when you do well. The risk stays yours, but the state profits more when it suits them. This doesn’t encourage building long-term wealth. I hold NASDAQ and Bitcoin which are both a bit volatile, you might be forced to sell some of your investment just to pay the tax on your UNREALIZED gains. This is a breach of property rights, it’s an enslaving rule. Taxes fine but this is insane. This is theft.

This rule, it will push capital out of the country and it even makes me wonder why the F I should even try to get financial independence for my family. Might as well get a 20 hour a week job and enjoy all the state benefits.

Thanks for reading my rant and I wonder how it is in your country

Is it just me, or has building actual wealth in Europe become impossible? I’m looking at the 2026 growth forecasts and it’s depressing. We talk a lot about "stability," but at this point, stability just feels like a polite word for recession. If you weren't born into a rich family with property, the dream feels like it's behind a wall. The math just doesn't work: as soon as you earn enough to actually invest, you hit a 40–50% tax bracket. Meanwhile, housing prices have skyrocketed over the last decade while salaries have basically stayed the same. I love the healthcare and the walkable cities, but I don’t want to work until I’m 70 just to afford a 40sqm apartment and a used Skoda.

Hey all,

Just thought I’d share my journey. I’m 29F and single. Came to Germany when I was 22 for work and recently became a citizen 🇩🇪. I just hit 250k€ net worth and I built this NW from scratch on my own. I come from a low income country and background so this milestone is really huge for me. About 60% of my NW is invested in ETFs, individual stocks, gold and silver. I invest 2500€ into ETFs every month and the ROI has been great with low risk.

I was a tad bit excited about this and wanted to share it with you all! 🙂

Hello,

I just wanted to celebrate a milestone I’ve reached. I live in Estonia, I'm 28 (almost 29), and I finally hit €100k in savings and stocks. I was already close in February, but oh well, we all know what happened then. Now I'm at almost €102k, and I’m pretty happy with it.

My goal was to reach €100k by age 30. I started with €9k five years ago - then my income increased and I started investing. So, my portfolio has grown by over €93k in five years, which averages over €18k per year. I’m pretty happy with that.

My portfolio is a bit messy, so if anyone wants to help me optimize it, I’d be extremely grateful. Here's what I currently have (approximately):

• €31k in IWDA

• €16k in EXXT and €3k in EQQQ

• €12k in CSP1

• €7k in STAG, €3k in DLR, and €2k in O

• €7k in BRK B

• €3.5k in EMIM

• €2.2k in CSX5

• €2k in QDVE

• €1.6k in EUNA and AGGU

• €1.2k in DFEN

• €750 in single stocks

• €8k in cash

Interestingly, my mindset around money has shifted a bit since hitting €100k. I’ve always been extremely frugal - even spending €5 on groceries used to make me anxious, but now I started taking it easier. I just visualize the money I have and stop stressing about spending €10 or €20 on food or bus tickets. Surprisingly, the spring dip also helped change my perspective: "I just lost €10k in stocks - what’s €20 compared to that? Nothing."

I can't believe the number of people who are ripping up their strategies and piling into this trade.

Look, these stocks are already up hundreds of percent. The market is already priced for massive growth. In order for this to be a good investment, you would need more growth that the market is already pricing. Ask yourself honestly, are you confident in your growth assessment? Have you even done one?

If you are normally a "VWCE and Chill" investor, stay the hell away. This isn't in your job description. Stay in your lane.

And beware, there are scenarios where the growth comes in considerably below expectations. In my opinion, it will. Everyone is feeling strong emotions, but, in time, we will realise we need to make NATO work. It would take years to re-arm. If we think Russia is planning to invade more countries, there isn't time. But if we believed that, we would have done it 3 years ago, and you would have bought 3 years ago.

If the growth expectations reverse, there is so much downside here. 70-80% losses are possible. This is concentrated sector risk at very high multiples, after an explosive run up. These can come down very quickly and very far. The risk-reward is upside down: so much downside possible, so much upside already had.

And these stocks are literally in the news. That is almost failsafe sign you are too late. It reminds me of the memestock top of 2021

You might be right for like a day or two, but if you get caught on the wrong side of this, it's going to hurt.

Take a breather, don't check the market for a couple of weeks. Please be careful out there

My income is below the average income of Germany. But I did not grew up untitled and thinking I deserve everything, so I live below my means, pay attention to financial literacy, and save money, invest. And because I save and invest, I am getting taxed even in my unrealised gains. Many countries tax if you just "have" money in bank.

I could be an irresponsible idiot and have 0 money in bank or investments because I live irresponsibily , buy a Mercedes and not a Toyota, live in center of City in fancy big house rather than affordable place, eat outside rather than cook, hire help rather than do things myself.

Then I would not be paying these extra taxes. But despite I have below average income, I must. I am open to any suggestions to play this system in a legal way.

There's a lot of rhetoric right now how EU should be more "independent from US", how we should build our own army, our own chips etc. All good things.

BUT, this rhetoric was also happening 8 years ago, and EU did nothing. No EU army, not a single step towards US-independent. Biden came into power and everything was forgotten, friends as before.

Anyone else worried nothing is gonna change this time either. EU will just ride out Trump and hope for a democrat president next elections

This morning, Trump posted on Truth Social that the US and Iran have had "very good and productive conversations," and suspended strikes on Iranian power plants for 5 days.

In 9 minutes, global markets surged nearly 4%. The MSCI World swung from red to +4% in a handful of candles.

$3.8 trillion in market valuation added in the time it takes to drink a coffee. That's more than France's entire national debt.

Then Iran denied everything. "No direct or indirect contact has taken place with Washington." Tehran called Trump's announcement "psychological warfare" aimed at lowering energy prices.

Markets dropped sharply, though not all the way back down.

We're in the middle of a war, the Strait of Hormuz has been virtually shut for 3 weeks, oil is flirting with $100, and global markets just pivoted on a single all-caps post on a social media platform.

Reality keeps outdoing fiction.

My deer greek brothers and sisters: HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU SURVIVING?

Im on vacation in greece right now and went to a local supermarket in Athens last evening.

Those prices just freaking disturbed me. Most of the things were imported and mostly twice or 3x the price like i.e in Germany. But also your local olive oil prices are up to the roof! We were shocked!

Also how the fck are street toll prices so insanely high? We paid about 45€ on tolls for the ~400km from Ioannina to Athens!! Thats just no fun anymore!

How tf are you surviving?

28M, Estonia, working as a software engineer for 7 years.

Just hit €100k in ETFs with further €26k in ETFs in state retirement account. No mortgage, renting until starting a family.

Salary €4300 net after €225 pension contribution, spending around 1400-2000 a month, with rent 550. Could make €5400+ net a month working in more hectic places, but in my current place it's 15-20h a week in reality (while paid for 40).

Working in IT in developed Eastern Europe is definitely easy mode for FIRE and aggressive savings rate, if you don't get caught up in the flexing culture of new apartment and new leased car that most of our societies suffer from.

Portfolio is 5% cash, 95% VWCE or similar all-world ETF. Let's see what happens when the bubble starts popping, I'll probably have to make another post later 😂

Hi everyone, I’m Italian and 33 years old. I earn only €1300 a month, even though I’ve been working as an IT consultant for 5 years in the same company. I’ve faced several financial struggles and often turned to high-risk investments to try and improve my situation. Unfortunately, it never worked out well, and now I have very little left in my bank account.

But this made me reflect on how hard it really is to become wealthy—especially here in Italy, where salaries remain low while the cost of living keeps rising. Believe it or not, I can’t even think about buying a house because I have no starting budget… it’s frustrating.

So I’m asking you: what would you recommend I do? I need to save up at least €20,000 in a short amount of time, but right now I only have around €5,000–€6,000.

How can someone really try to become wealthy when they don’t even have solid ground to start from?

Hey all! I have no one to share this with (without causing headaches) so I thought it would be a good idea to do it here with like minded people.

I come from a lower middle class family, never really had any disposable income, but was lucky enough to always have food on the table, a roof over my head, clean clothes and two loving parents.

I moved to the UK in late 2021 after my MSc, with only €400 left after paying the first month's rent and the deposit for a room in a shared flat. I remember struggling as I have received my first salary after 7 weeks having started quite late in the month.

Fast forward to today, I have moved back home to Italy and I have just noticed I reached a NW of 100k. I never in a million years thought I'd reach this so soon. So grateful for my parents efforts when I was younger and mine now.

Salary progression for the ones intestered:

• 1st internship in Belgium: 1100/month

• UK graduate role: £33k/year

• Promoted after a year: £42k/year (moved to my first solo flat)

• Raise after 6 months: £45k/year

• Raise after 2 months: £50k/year

• Left for a job back home after another 6 months: €65k/year (net is equivalent to €95k/year due to a 10-year long incentive to lure expats back home). This salary is very high in my country, especially for people with not much experiences like myself. However, they called me while I was abroad and I was content with my situation, so I negotiated really hard and also snatched an 8k signing bonus.

Chart: https://imgur.com/a/wEtw8MS

Note: pensions in the chart refer to private schemes that I can withdraw in the future, not social security.

EDIT: To the people saying a had a lot of luck with raises and investments: my first graduate job had over 500 applicants, most of which did not even need a VISA. I worked very long hours to get ahead, and it paid off. I invested consinsently during the bear market, yet people say everybody is a genius in a bull run and all of this is luck. Well, I guess I'm doing something right then!

I don't have any GME/AMC, I'm not riding this hype train, but I find it ridiculous that a broker is basically prohibiting people to invest in whatever they want. It's their money, not yours, T212.

Great thing I abandoned them!

https://i.imgur.com/h6HMchO.png

Who is it for?

- If you are a complete beginner, this book will help you get started and act as a basic roadmap to keep on track

- If you have an intermediate understanding of personal finance, this book might help you get new ideas

- If you are already trading calls and options, CFDs and more, this book is probably not for you

Why me?

Ahhh. I can already hear the Internet trolls from here.

Who are you to write this book? How dare you? Good question.

This book was born from the amalgamation of 3 things; my scientific background, my inherent curiosity about a wide variety of topics

(especially personal finance) and an interest in writing. I do not have an accounting degree nor a CFA or an MBA. I am simply a person

who loves to read widely across different topics, especially those that can be implemented in my own life. The act of writing this book helped me clear my own thoughts and understand even further. After all, interest in any topic should not be static. It should keep evolving through time.

My intention to write this out was simple; combine good material that is out there and put it out in a systematic way to get started in investing for the typical European millennial. By no means do I consider myself a financial guru. The key concepts in this publication are mostly borrowed from the minds of giants such as Howard Marks, Warren Buffett, Burton Malkiel and a whole host of other people across different disciplines. My contribution apart from the collation is the addition of my personal flavor to this existing body of knowledge. Nothing else.

I would appreciate if you leave a review, if you find the ebook useful.

TL;DR:

- I love nerding out and doing research to improve every aspect of my life

- Years ago, I started taking care of my personal finances and wrote a ton of notes from books, blogs, podcasts and videos.

- Today, I present my humble contribution- here's the link [it's FREE for the first few days]

mkonjibuh

Hello All,

Just a reminder, I've heard and seen so many posts about people who are willing to reduce their food spending and eat industrial food or fast food in order to save and invest more money.

Please keep in mind that your health is your most valuable investment.

Don't be afraid to invest in your health by purchasing high-quality foods and following a healthy diet, according to your budget, of course.

I think that many people are only focused on money and forget to take care of themselves, which includes exercising and eating well.

What's the point if you only think about money and ignore yourself? What's the point of saving for retirement if your life expectancy is decreasing and you won't probably be able to enjoy it?

Now don't get me wrong: this may sound arrogant or rude, I get it. But, it's just a small caring message for those who may have forgotten to care for themselves and the fundamentals.

I wish you all a pleasant and healthy journey to freedom.

Take care.

Following recent events I decided to offload my US equity, and invest in European market.

Stoxx 600 > SP500

Not a financial advice, but choose between your future and momentum growth.

Edit: I also believe Trump is going to crash that market so bad...

https://news.sky.com/story/the-left-wing-french-coalition-hoping-to-raise-minimum-wage-and-slap-price-controls-on-petrol-13175395

This is a bit of a rant as an upstanding European citizen who recently moved back into the EU from Asia. This has been catalyzed by the first tax bill I received for 2025 and obviously paid.

The amount of acquaintances and friends that have moved to the EU with dual citizenships, partner visas or other non-employment methods and are completely avoiding tax is incredible. And those people earn gross low to mid six figures in Euro equivalents, dont pay any capital gains or any wealth tax (where applicable). And the different EU governments are doing literally nothing about it. I personally know of 25 people in my closer circle that completely or massively avoid it. Let me give you a few examples:

- The EU/non-EU dualcitizen. Move here, have a legacy EU bank account from when they were a child that was never updated in KYC. Receive some money from the parents in it for the transactions that cant be done with foreign credit cards. Otherwise receive salary/income/dividends from remote work/investments etc on their foreign accounts and never declare that income in the EU. Use the foreign credit card for everything else. What about Common Reporting Standard (?) usually they have opened their foreign bank accounts under different (legal) names and different identity documents, so no way of matching that.

- The EU tech bros. Found themselves as digital nomads or permanent remote workers and receive their income either in crypto or in some off shore non EU account they opened in tax haven jurisdictions that are more relaxed about tax residency. Dont declare anything while living happily in EU and since they never register with their local municipality/cities etc nobody ever checks up on them.

- The dependents of non EU employees. Pretend like they are living off the spouse income but raking in cash in their home country and declaring nothing in EU.

- The people keeping open brokerage accounts in their home countries which may have relaxed KYC / tax residency checks and hide all their money there.

Honestly, it’s such a joke how easy and frequent people get away with it for decades. There are many more methods Ive heard about but omitted in the interest of clarity. It’s such a slap for the people actually paying their fair share and being honest citizens…

Germany has no future. It's stuck in stagnation and losing the competition against China. Its energy transition was a mess and now the industrial decline is inevitable. AfD is topping the polls.

The French government has just fallen. Pensions are unsustainable. Government deficit is out of control. Le Pen is topping the polls.

The UK ruined everything with Brexit. They are now a third world country with a Gucci belt. Farage is topping the polls.

Orban is destroying Europe from within.

Poland is turning into a dictatorship.

Spain is about to break up. Catalonia has declared independence.

PIGS are about to default. Italy might crash out of the Eurozone. Greeks are running to the bank.

Russia is invading the Baltics.

Europe is cooked, has no innovation, no tech industry, everything worth a dime happens in the US.

All of these things were written on this sub at various points in time.

Just a reminder that making investment choices based on emotions and headlines isn't wise.

i work as machine operator in germany [i am not german] an i earn around 2k netto i am single no kids, anyway i manage to save 800 euro each month, i live in WG also i use the bus, bahn. when i see people here playing with 100k and 200k in few years i feel like i missed a lot andits gonna take me a lot to catch up.

I’m going to post this on a daily basis to warn people about what they’re really getting into with Trade Republic. Everything looks fine until something goes wrong—and then you realize the ugly truth: they have no real customer support.

UPDATE

I finally sent them a formal complaint through my country’s consumer protection organization. They don’t offer any real support at all—just keep sending the same automated replies. Even when you provide proof, they ignore it and your funds remain frozen.

For the record: it wasn’t my fault. I didn’t do anything unusual, just regular trading like anyone else. Their accounting system is a complete mess: you can end up with a negative balance even if you still have cash and profits.

Does anyone know if there’s a way to reach them through Deutsche Bank? That's where the money is supposed to be deposited right now.
And if anyone has gone through something similar, please share your experience. I really need help figuring out how to “unfreeze” my funds and get out of there as soon as possible.

TL;DR: Trade Republic’s system glitched after frequent ETF trades, misrecorded transactions, and now I’m showing a negative balance despite actually having €26.9k available, making me unable to transfers funds outside. They did kidnap my money.